Higgins secures No 1 spot

John Higgins won his 11th ranking title by
beating fellow Scot Billy Snaddon
9-3 in the final.
The £42,000 first prize takes his season earnings to a staggering £399,925. Snaddon has
his biggest payday ever with the £21,000 runner-up prize.

By winning the title Higgins is guaranteed to stay at the top of the rankings in next year's world
rankings. Snaddon moves to No 22 in the
Embassy rankings.

Mark Williams and
John Higgins reinforced their dominance
of this
snooker season, as they both blazed through their match 5-0. Williams
demolished his Nations Cup Team Mate
Dominic Dale in just 58 minutes.
He included a couple of 50+ breaks and a run of 113. He will now play
another Welshman Paul Davies.

John Higgins, fully recovered from his
5-4 thriller yesterday, resumed
business as normal as he brushed aside
Matthew Stevens 5-0, in a
surprisingly easy win. Stevens had taken Higgins to 9-6 inthe final of
the UK earlier this season.

Stephen Lee continued quietly on his way,
reinforcing his newly won
position in the Top 8, as he overcame the tenacious
Peter Ebdon. Lee
led 4-3 but was 44-0 behind in the next. Given a chance he stepped in
with a classic 89 break, which was kept going by an amazingly thin cut
on a black, having to use the spider to bridge over the pack. It earnt
him a place in the quarter final line up, where he will now face
Billy Snaddon.

Scotland's Billy Snaddon
produced the shock of the day with a 5-3 win
over the mercurial Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Snaddon raced into a 4-1 lead
with breaks of 55, 74, 118, 46 and 54. Ronnie praised his opponent
after the game. "I was really surprised at how well Billy played", "I
waited for him to make mistakes, but he didn't until it was too late".
John Parrott recorded a routine 5-1 over
the out of form Nigel Bond,
while Ken Doherty was made to work hard
before overcoming Anthony Hamilton 5-3.

Match of the day was the clash between the two six times World
Champions Stephen Hendry and
Steve Davis. Hendry started as odds on
favourite, considering that the last time Davis beat him was in the
1993 European Open Final. Steve Davis had
other ideas, he established
a 4-2 lead, and had Hendry on the rocks in the next as he led by 28
points with only the colours on the table. Hendry wasn't finished yet.
He laid a snooker on the yellow and extracted the required penalty
from Davis, which gave him a chance of victory, and he eventually
nicked the frame on the black for 4-3, and in the eighth frame he
again pinched the frame with a colours clearance to level the match
and set up a decider.

Hendry got away to an early lead with a break of 38, but with the
pressure building up he missed the penultimate red to let Davis back
to the table. Davis set about clearing up and took the last red and
colours up to the blue, when unbelievably he missed a simple blue off
its spot, the ball that would have taken him to the quarter finals. An
amazed Hendry returned to the table and took blue, pink and a
nerve-wracking black, with the cue ball tight under a cushion.

The post match interviews were nearly as dramatic as the match. Hendry
reeled to the press room and announced "It's a miracle I'm still
here." "The truth is, that Steve deserved to win".
Steve Davis, meanwhile, took his full 15
minute time allowance before
facing the massed press ranks. He still managed a joke "Sorry I'm
late, I've been trying to commit suicide!".

Davis went on to say "I've got three thoughts at the moment. That is
the best I've played in a very long time and I got so close to beating
a great player again." "The trouble is that both of those thoughts are
pushed aside by the knowledge that I blew it and blew it big time. It
was a nightmare ending, but not quite as bad as when I missed the
black against Dennis Taylor".

Observers commented that the blue Davis missed was as bad a blunder as
the blue that Willie Thorne
missed, against Davis himself, in the
final of the 1985 UK Championship.

John Higgins came within one missed red of
crashing out of The China
International. Fellow Scot
Jamie Burnett led 4-3 and 36-19,
when he
missed a straightforward red. Higgins, inspired by his predecessors as
World Champions - Hendry and Davis - dug deep into his reserves to
claw his way back to level terms, with a break of 61. Burnett had
nothing left to offer as Higgins resumed his normal role with a
matchwinning break of 111 in the decider. A relieved Higgins now faces
Welshman Matthew Stevens, who
demolished Alain Robidoux 5-0.

Also in invincible mood was six times World Champion
Steve Davis. He
brushed aside the mercurial Quientan Hann 5-1. Apart from a break of
62 from Hann, it was Davis all the way and Hann only managed to
accumulate 42 in the last four frames. Davis, ever the master of
understatement said "I think Quienten has lost a bit of direction
within himself".

Nigel Bond notched and welcome and
surprisingly easy 5-0 win over
Belfast's Joe Swail and compiled
runs of 49, 65, 40 and 89 along the
way. The former British Open champion will be hoping that this is a
sign of better times ahead. Ken Doherty
beat Michael Holt 5-0, and for
good measure entertained the crowd with successive breaks of 115 and
129.

Peter Ebdon, still struggling to recapture
the form of previous
seasons, found life far tougher as he took on yesterday's hero Pang
Wei Guo. Guo matched Ebdon frame for frame at the interval and nearly
snatched a 3-2 lead, but rattled a black in the jaws. Ebdon nicked
that one and went 4-2 up, but the local favourite wasn't overawed, as
he compiled a run of 51 to cut the deficit. Ebdon eventually
established his authority with a break of 78 in frame eight to take
the match 5-3. He praised in Chinese opponent after the match "He is a
very good potter, but he showed signs of inexperience. But that will
get sorted out the more chance he has to compete against the top
players".

James Wattana's miserable season, both on
and off the table,
continued, this time at the hands of Scot
Billy Snaddon. He was 4-0
down in double quick time, but showly his characteristic fighting
qualities he fought back to 4-3, before Snaddon closed out the match.
This defeat will put his top 16 place in serious jeopardy.

The first round matches of Alan McManus
and Mark Williams have been
held over until Wednesday, giving them time to travel on from Thailand
following last weekend's final.
Mark Williams, who faces Nations Cup
Teammate Dominic Dale, will be
further boosted by the news that his
efforts this season have taken him up to Number Three on the World
Ranking List.

There is the enthusiasm for snooker in China, that the first day's matches
were sold out and ticket touts were doing brisk business outside the venue.
The four invited local Chinese wildcards showed that the standard of snooker
in this relatively new Snooker nation is rising rapidly. Pang Wei Guo was
the hero for China as he ousted Leeds'
Peter Lines 5-1 with a string of
impressive breaks - 63, 104, 50 and 79.

Zhang Xai from China led Welshman
Anthony Davies 4-1, before
Davies made the
most of his superior experience to claw back to take a 5-4 victory. Davies
included a 139 total clearance in his recovery.

Pau Shan lost out 5-2 to Worcester's
Dave Finbow and Yang Ji Ann found
himself on the receiving end of a 140 total clearance as
Michael Holt won
5-1, but he did manage a break of 121 in the frame he won.

As the first round got under way, Tony Drago
became the first top name to
tumble out of the event. He was beaten very rapidly by Wales'
Paul Davies
5-0, in just 76 minutes. Even Drago at his best, normally takes longer than
that to WIN a match.

Mark King inflicted a 5-0 whitewash on
Paul Hunter, to end a miserable
pair
of Eastern Events for him.

Stephen Lee, The Grand Prix Champion emerged
unscatched froma brush with Drew
Henry, recording a straightforward 5-1 win, while Nottingham's Anthony
Hamilton also got the job done in efficient manner as he saw off Jonathan
Birch. At least Birch made it all the way to China, having failed to get to
Aberdeen in time for his scheduled match against
Ronnie O'Sullivan in The
Scottish Open. Ronnie, meanwhile came through his match with
Bradley Jones a
5-3 winner, but still expressed dissatisfaction with him game and life in
general. "I'm not into it at all. I'm going through the motions, I've been
like it all season. I don't really care what happens, to be honest with
you". Despite all this Ronnie clocked up breaks of 94, 73, 60 and 81 to
thrill the Chinese crowd.

Good day for the Welsh boys - Stevens whitewashes Marco Fu to gain
two wins out of three in the overseas events.
Dominic Dale completes his hattrick with his second 5-4 in two days.
Paul Davies does it again and namesake Anthony Davies joins him in
China.

The qualifiers for the UK tour also start with two venues - one
north, one south and we will try and keep up to date with all that,
plus news and results from the first World Ladies Ranking Event of
the season as the girls plays in Scotland this weekend.

Later in September comes the multi cue event in celebration of the
centenary of Walter Lindrum's birth - in australia - with favourite
names such as Jimmy White, Willie Thorne and Karen Corr
participating - we will bring you all the info.

Anthony Davies won The Cardiff/Swansea clash, breaks of 51, 69 and
50 helped his cause. Fellow Cardiff player Paul Davies also got
through, holding on in a see saw battle against Louth's Karl
Broughton. Davies plays Irishman Fergal O'Brien.

Joe Swail, enjoying a solid run so far, will benefit from the
misfortune of his fellow Irishman Terry Murphy.
Murphy has broken his ankle and is set for a six week recovery
period. This will prevent him playing at Plymouth, but he hopes to
be fit by The Grand Prix, where he is already seeded through to the
Venue.

Swail will get a walkover and is thus the first player through to
China, where he will play Nigel Bond.
Murphy's opponents in the European Open and Thai Masters will also
go straight through.

It is still very doubtful whether Darren Morgan will be able to play
at Plymouth. Morgan is still recovering from a car smash, that left
him with a dislocated hip. Dave Finbow would be the lucky
beneficiary in this event if Darren can't compete.

So illness and accidents are taking their toll - Murphy, Morgan both
out with injuries, Ferguson struggling following Flu and the most
bizarre so far, Micky Roughan, who had to withdraw from an earlier
match through illness - he was rushed to hospital with "peanut"
poisoning - Roughan is allergic to peanuts. Luckily he recovered
quite quickly, as this condition can be fatal.

The 17-32 seeds are all making their way to Plymouth ready to join
in the fray - all have to play one match in each of the three
overseas tournaments - now the giant killing begins!

Disappointment again for Willie Thorne as he falls to East Anglian hope
Mark Gray - Mark Gray's greatest victory to date came last season when
he defeated Jimmy White - Gray remarked that even he wanted Jimmy to
win!

Fu takes a step nearer getting "home", as the Hong Kong player now
stands two matches away from a trip to China.

Neal Foulds revival continues. After several miserable seasons, Foulds
showed glimpses of the form that took him to World No 3,when he reached
the quarters of The British Open. A solid performance today put paid to
Northern Ireland's latest high flyer - Patrick Wallace. Wallace, who
remained undefeated in his first 15 matches has succeeded in qualifying
for all the UK based venues, but strangely has failed to qualify in all
the overseas tournaments. However Wallace's performances to date have been excellent.

Fenton of Morriston, will line up tomorrow against Barry's Anthony
Davies - amazingly taking on a fellow Welshman for the third
successive round. Feonton defeated Newport's Mark Bennett in Round
3, chapel in Round 5. The winner will, however face English
opposition, as Essex's Brian Morgan awaits.

Quienten Hann scraped home by the skin of his teeth 65-55 in the
decider and tomorrow plays Scotland's Euan Henderson.

Two former Top 16 players meet in Round 6 as Dean Reynolds takes on
Norther Ireland's Joe Swail, who is so far enjoying a solid run of
results, after a couple of miserable seasons.

The winner of Marco Fu and Wayne Brown will take on Wales' hot
property - Matthew Stevens. A note for all Stevens fans out there -
Matthew will celebrate his 21st Birthday on 11th September - he will
be aiming to give himself a present in the Regal Scottish Masters,
where he plays in the prelims against Paul hunter. The £61,000
winners cheque would make a nice present!

The August Bank Holiday Sunshine in Plymouth puts the players in scoring
mood today as the breaks were rattled in from all directions in Round 5
of the China International.

There was an amazing 59 breaks over 50 in the 21 matches morning matches.
There were actually a total of 151 frames played to complete the
matches.

Michael Holt started his blitz of breaks with 61 in the first, which he
lost! 62 & 53 in the third, 94 in the fourth, 115 in the fifth, 126 in
the sixth and 91 to take the match in the seventh.

Marco Fu who has already established a rapidly growing reputation as
both a match winner and high scorer, joined in the fun - he kicked off
with 59 & 67 in the third, then 50 &66 in the fifth, and with the score
at 3-3 he sealed the match with 52 in the sixth and 79 to win in the
seventh.

Knowles falls at the final hurdle - a 1-5 defeat by Welshman
Anthony Davies. Breaks of 80, 106 and 51 from Davies counteract 60
and 50 from Knowles.

Fenton makes its a hat-trick of qualifications. Swansea beats
Newport, as Mark Fenton defeats his fellow "Dragon" 5-2 to qualify
for the third time. Fenton finished the match in style with a run of
116, this was added to earlier breaks of 56 and 63.

PATRICK WALLACE does it again, but now someone will have to give way. On
Saturday he will play fellow WPBSA Coach Matthew Couch. Couch is also
undefeated, but of course has only had to win one match each time to
qualify, whereas Wallace has had to win TWO.

Belgium, Malaysia and Australia give themselves a chance:
Bjorn Hanevver carries Belgium's hopes forward to round three, where he will
play Graham Horne.

Aussie youngster Johl Younger beat veteran Welshman Steve Newbury, who has
failed to win a single match at Plymouth, but it will release him to
concentrate on his Coaching commitments as a WPBSA Coach. Newbury is
scheduled to undertake a Coaching trip to China. China have a very well
structured set up which includes Snooker Coaching on the School Curriculum!
Several WPBSA Coaches have already undertaken month long trips to Beijing
and other areas to Coach the young players.

Adrian Gunnell does it again - just one defeat in 17 matches, he progresses
to play Leigh Griffin, who although English, is based in Belgium.

One century break so far today to add to the Break Board: 101 from England's
Ollie King, who stil ended up a loser.

England's Paul Cavney received an unexpected afternoon off after his
opponent Mick Roughan has to withdraw through illness, when the score
stood at 1-0 to Roughan.

Iceland's invincible - Kristian Helgason was at it again - a
resounding 5-1 win over Munraj Pal, helped along by breaks of 95, 53,
87.

Finland's Robin Hull eventually lost today, bringing a highly
successful run to an end - he perished at the hands of Robert Milkins
5-2.

Mehmet Husnu, London based Turkish Cypriot, followed up his explits
yesterday with another narrow queak today. Today he went 4-0 down to
Jason Wallace, who clocked up a run of 82, before Husnu, who only seems
to join in the match after the interval, set to work. No 147 today, but
runs of 96, 50 and 56 gave him another amazing 5-4 win.

Llanelli's Phil Williams, breezed through 5-0 against Sean Lanigan
to earn himself a chance of qualifying for the third time. Having won a
torried first frame, which took 48 minutes(!), by 59-58 he had knocked the
stuffing out of Lanigan, who offered little further resistance. Williams
was cheered on today by his fellow Matchroom stablemate, Matthew
Stevens, who breezed into Plymouth to sample the atmosphere before he
embarks on his overseas qualifiers in a couple of weeks.

Well here we go again - Mehmet Husnu compiled a maximum 147 break
during his first round match today against Eddie Barker.
Even more incredible was that the perfect break came when Husnu was
4-1 behind in the match ... and even more amazing!... he followed this
with breaks of 67, 86 and 70 to run out a 5-4 winner!

And... at last... a win for Canada's hero - Kirk Stevens, he has left
it till his last chance and goes through to play Steve Murphy on
Friday.